


shenanigans .

by brutalitation



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gift Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brutalitation/pseuds/brutalitation
Summary: "So," Nami breaks the silence. She leans against her bed, and grins at you. "It looks like you're the only one that's able to control Luffy."[monkey d. luffy/reader, one-shot. a sequel gift to "better left (un)said" by desertspells.]
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 95





	shenanigans .

**Author's Note:**

  * For [desertspells](https://archiveofourown.org/users/desertspells/gifts).



The first few weeks of being on the Sunny are filled with a comfortable nervousness--the excitement of being on a new ship, surrounded by people who are kind, welcoming, being closer to Luffy. It's the first place that's felt like home for a long time. 

Your sleeping habits were vastly different from everyone else on the ship. Dead asleep in the morning, wide awake at night. Every evening, you’d eat with the others. The meals were rich, decadent even, but what made it all worthwhile was the fact that you were surrounded by others, their laughter, their warmth. Then, when everyone drank their last bit of tea (or milk, or cola, or alcohol), the rest of the crew would bid you goodnight. Luffy is always the last to say; he watches you clamber up to the crow’s nest, and then gives a cheeky smile before heading to the men’s quarters. 

Then, the days become routine and anxiety an--the all-too-familiar one, the one that has been biding its time in the crevices of your mind--begins to claw at your feet. The touches are brief, fleeting. Then, the way it crawls under your skin lingers more and more, creeping closer to your chest, to your stomach, until one day, it hits you all at once like the Puffing Tom Luffy told you about. 

It happens in the kitchen, late afternoon. Nami is peeling tangerines and tells you about her recent dealings with a merchant trying to upcharge her, and Sanji is in the background, preparing pre-supper tea and coffee. A heavy citrus and the scent of a dark roast wafts through the air, but the smells, which should be so simple to separate for your sensitive nose, melds. The background skews, and the edges of your vision blurs. 

"--and can you believe she had the gall to do something like that?" Nami asks. She doesn't look up from peeling, continuing to lament, and only parts of the story are sticking.

The kettle whistles in the background, and you vaguely hear Sanji ask if you can get it off the stove since he's washing something. You get up. Kettle, kettle, kettle, you remind yourself to keep on track. Meanwhile, you strain for some tidbits of Nami's story. Against the wall, the transponder snail sets off. Buruburu, buruburu, buruburu--

Something stops. You stop. The world continues on, headfirst without any signs of stopping, but you're still. Sanji peers up from his cooking, and calls out, but his voice gets lost in the background. Nami tries too. Then, before long, Luffy comes into the kitchen, complaining about how he's hungry. 

"Ah? (Y/N), what's wrong?" he asks, and it's the only voice that cuts clean through the rest of the noise. Still, you remain silent, unable to grasp at the correct words. Then, he looks around and then grins. "Oh!"

In a span of seconds, he clears off everything that was muddled in your mind. He reaches over, takes the kettle off the fire, then his hand loops back to the phone. 

As Luffy picks up the receiver, you hear Usopp's faint, panicked voice. "Oh, Sanji, we’re tied up with something here, could you send us down a--"

"Don't call here," Luffy says plainly, returning the phone to its place.

"Ah, L-Luffy! Wai--"

The line clicks off, and the room grows a little stiller with each passing moment. Until, finally, Luffy looks at Nami with a calm expression. "Hey, stop talking for a second." 

"You little--"

Before she even moves, Luffy grins at you, and then takes your hand in his, and he drags you out of the kitchen. There's a huge grin plastered on his face, and he starts babbling on about a huge fish he thinks he saw in the ocean, and he wants you to tell him what it is. As you stumble to keep up with his long paces, you feel the warmth of the sun, the sea breeze of the air.

The edges sharpen, and the Sunny looks bright, vivid.

"Hmph, I'll let it go this once, Luffy!" Nami calls from the kitchen before the door shuts. 

\- - -

It's about two hours in your shift, does Dotty relax and fall asleep in your lap. You turn the pages of the book Robin lent you. It's something to do with folktales from Alabasta. The words were filled with fantastical tales, woven carpets that transversed the skies, a golden lamp that could grant any wish. It's all fiction, you know, but it doesn't make it any less spectacular. 

Something creaks from beneath. You glance up at the window but see nothing on the port or starboard. Before you can move, the hatch beneath swings open with a thud. The sound rattles Dotty, and she skitters in your lap, tail upright, and her claws extended, thankfully, not into your skin.

"(Y/N)! I'm bored," Luffy complains. He tilts his head to the side. "What's wrong with Dotty?" 

You press a finger to your lips. Shh. He grins. When he does something wrong, his smiles are always so wide, so sheepish, that it's difficult to be upset with him. He closes the hatch and pads over, before plopping down with a thump beside you. Dotty hisses, jumps onto the floor and throws one pointed glare over her shoulder, before stalking over to the quietest place in the crow's nest. 

"Oops," he says, chuckling. You roll your eyes but say nothing, and continue to flip through the pages. He leans over. "What'cha reading today?" 

You explain it's a book that Robin handed you earlier this afternoon, and his eyes glaze over. You've known him the least on the ship but he's easy to read: any time a book is mentioned and it doesn't have something appealing to him, his mind shuts down. He stretches his arms above his head, and then rests his head into your lap.

"Maybe if you read it to me, I'll fall asleep," he suggests, grinning. You place the book on his forehead, the backing covering his eyes from the fluorescent lights, and read at a steady pace. He shifts in his spot, grumbles, antsy. Even from the corner of your eye, you can see Dotty peering at him with one eye open. 

"Ugh, it's so boring!" he exclaims. He sits up so fast that the book is knocked back into your chest, which you manage to catch before it tumbles to the ground. "Tell me the stories when you lived in the desert. I like those most."

You ease him back down into your lap, and begin to thread your fingers through his hair. The strands are a little greasy, and you're tempted to tell him to go take a bath. But, his eyes flutter, ever-so-slightly, and you resign yourself to telling him his favorite stories when you were living with Gabriel, and what they taught you. 

The memories enrapture and, before long, Luffy is lightly snoring in your lap, sound asleep. 

\- - -

Your nights are the crew’s mornings, and while the rest walk around the deck, wreaking whatever havoc that they can, you're the one tucked in the women's quarters. 

"If you ever feel uncomfortable here, we can always put another bed in the men's quarters," Nami tells you. She is always the last one to see you awake before you turn in to rest. "Robin and I just thought that you'd like to be away from the boys' musk when you're sleeping."

You smile. In all honesty, it's better to be stationed with the two of them: there are less fights and, like she said, less smell. Sanji, Usopp, and Brook are fine, but between Zoro, exercises before bed, and Luffy, who you have to convince to take a bath at least every two days, the room even reeks from the outside. Nami pulls on one of her sandals, and she spares a glance over her shoulder, her lips in a small pout.

"So," she breaks the silence. She leans against her bed, and grins at you. "It looks like you're the only one that's able to control Luffy sometimes." 

You're halfway into bed, the sheet strewn loosely over your legs, and you look at Nami, curious. She stares back, quiet. Then, after a few minutes, she asks, "You really don't see it?"

See what, you question. 

"Ah, never mind, you'll figure it out," she decides to say. Then, she gets up, dressed to the nines. "I'll talk to you later, (Y/N)! Good night!"

\- - -

Luffy spends the morning perched up on the lion figurehead. For all his chaoticness, running around and doing whatever he pleases when it pleases him, he still follows the semblance of a routine. When he wakes up in the morning, he complains to Sanji for an hour until breakfast is made. Then, when he's eaten his share of five servings, he drags Usopp to go fishing with him to refill the tank. When midday hits, Luffy goes to bother Sanji again for another morning snack which, after much determination and will-breaking, Sanji makes for him. 

But, today, there's a break in his behavior. 

After breakfast, he scarfs down three servings of breakfast and then bounds off to see Franky in the infirmary. In a recent scuffle with a Marine ship, their shipwright took a hit in the back. It was slight, quick, but enough of a wound that Chopper had to treat the delicate skin. It'll only take a few days to heal, Chopper told the crew, but Franky needs as much rest as possible to recover the non-synthetic skin. 

It's off for everyone to hear that the resident cyborg is bedridden until further notice. Though, the thing that is the strangest is how there are still leftovers at breakfast.

"I think this is the first time Franky has gotten hurt like that on the Sunny," Usopp says to you as the two of you fish for tonight's dinner. You glance over at the sharpshooter, and watch as he wrinkles his nose. "Luffy must be worried. He hasn't even bothered me about what size fish I've caught today."

You ask if there's anything that the crew should do. Usopp shrugs his shoulders, casts his line back into the water. After a thoughtful pause, he decides, "Luffy isn't the type to talk about what he's feeling. I mean, look at him, grandson of the greatest Marines. I'm sure talking about his emotions isn't one of his strongest suits." 

Noon rolls around. The sun is high and the Grand Line water is calm, and the weather is pleasant, as per Nami's predictions. At one of the tables, you sit with Nami as Sanji serves you some tea and drinks before he finishes lunch. 

"How's Franky?" Nami asks Sanji, who dropped off a bottle of cola for him at the infirmary. The saucer and teacup clink against the table as his deft hands add a few sugar cubes and milk to the Navigator's drink. He hums, his voice low, "He's fine. Who wouldn't be fine with the lovely Robin being there to help him?

"I'm more concerned about him," Sanji says, motioning to the port with a point of his chin. "Our captain hasn't bothered me about what's for lunch today." 

Nami crosses her arms across her chest, and leans back into her seat. "He hasn't bothered me at all about when we're reaching the next island either." 

The two perk up their heads and stare at you for a moment, before looking at each other with a knowing look. Nami smiles--this little coy turn of her lips that just hints at mischief--and Sanji also has this boyish grin on his lips.

What, you ask, perturbed. Nami starts motioning to the lionhead and tells you, "(Y/N), go talk to Luffy. I'm sure he needs the company!"

"Yeah, and I'll get the two of you something to drink," Sanji adds in.

You don't have much choice in the decision. As you pad up the steps, the straw hat he has on bobs up and he glances at you. There's a split-second, a short moment, where you see a trace of contemplativeness on Luffy's face, how his lips quirk down, how his brow is furrowed in the middle. Then, it disappears in a second.

"Hey, (Y/N)! Why are you up so early?" he asks, his usual grin stretched across his face. 

You shrug, tell him that it's been harder to sleep since the Marine attack messed up your sleep schedule. He hums, turns away, and you catch a glimpse of his expression. 

He chirps. "Well, no need to worry! I'm going to be keeping an eye out today!"

You don't doubt it, not after all that he's proven and done for you. You lean against the railing, arms propped up as you gaze at the vast sea. Then, something comes into your head. You start telling him about stories of the sea, and how there's more than just Neptunians or Fishmen or mermaids or fish. You tell him a story of spirits that live in the waters, that trick people into diving into the ocean, about how there are Devil Fruits that are tucked away in the tufts of seaweed beneath. From the corner of your eye, you see his grin stretch further and his body relax. When you finish your story, he meets your eyes, and smiles--something true, something bright.

"Sanji!" he yells out, as he comes up to a stand. "When's lunch?!" 

\- - -

That night, Luffy is back on the crow's nest, his head resting in your lap. Dotty has grown accustomed to this arrangement, and settles for sleeping on his stomach. Whenever he kicks around too much, she sinks her claws into him as a firm reminder. Tonight, however, he is calm, still. 

His breathing is steady. When he actually decides to shower, his scent is pleasant. It's soft, smells like the ocean breeze, and a part of you thinks that he is truly made for the seas, made to be the future Pirate King. His hair feels smooth between your fingers tonight, no greasiness, no oil, just clean. You decide that you prefer him best like this.

As the tips of your fingers graze across his forehead, his eyes flutter open. He stares up at you, bleary, but then he grins his sun-like grin, and then, he sits up, and presses a firm kiss onto your lips. The two of you stay like that for a moment, before he flops back down onto your lap. Dotty hisses but doesn't dig her claws into his stomach. 

What was that for, you ask him. Then, he shrugs, smiling. "I just wanted to."

He falls back asleep, and the night is calm again. Your breathing matches his, slow, steady. Your body is like his, relaxed, at ease. And, for a second you think that the smile that stretches on your lips is like his.

Genuine, sweet, and bright.


End file.
